The Appendix may have a use after all!

[Chrissy]

 
(Aug. 24) -- The body's appendix has long been thought of as nothing more than a worthless evolutionary artifact, good for nothing save a potentially lethal case of inflammation.
Now researchers suggest the appendix is a lot more than a useless remnant. Not only was it recently proposed to actually possess a critical function, but scientists now find it appears in nature a lot more often than before thought. And it's possible some of this organ's ancient uses could be recruited by physicians to help the human body fight disease more effectively.


Here is the entire article:

http://news.aol.com/health/article/researchers-say-appendix-has-uses/637211?icid=main|htmlws-main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Fhealth%2Farticle%2Fresearchers-say-appendix-has-uses%2F637211

[Silver Bullet]

Cool!  We can now put some unemployed surgeons back to work specializing in appendix transplants.

 

[MechAg94]

Interesting.  One more reason why it is never a good idea to assume you or all of us know everything.  There is always more to learn.

It seems to me that developing ways to soup up the body's own immune system would be a great benefit.  The comment about "training" white blood cells makes me curious.  :)

[El Tejon]

Mech, take your blue pill and stop asking questions!

[Gewehr98]

Sounds like something else El Tejon needs to flush out on a regular basis, to me...   

[El Tejon]

Memo to self:  ask at yoga what is good flushing routine for appendix.

[AJ Dual]

I heard that the average human's intestinal bacteria, the stuff that's supposed to be there, weighs several pounds.

It makes sense that the appendix is a "life boat" for them to repopulate the GI tract.

[seeker_two]

Memo to self:  ask at yoga what is good flushing routine for appendix.

http://www.girlofwords.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/billy-mays.jpg

[charby]

Memo to self:  ask at yoga what is good flushing routine for appendix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoke_enema

[Harold Tuttle]

[Perd Hapley]

Creation science has been pointing this out for quite some time.  Why is it news now?   

[Doggy Daddy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoke_enema

Oh, c'mon!

Now you're just blowing smoke up my a........... er............uh..........

nevermind.   :rolleyes:

DD

[Antibubba]

An entire page that said virtually nothing other than "It seems to have a function, possibly related to the immune system".  So helpful.   :rolleyes:

[seeker_two]

An entire page that said virtually nothing other than "It seems to have a function, possibly related to the immune system".  So helpful.   :rolleyes:

http://iamodb.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/bones-mccoy.jpg


D*mm!t, Antibubba! I'm a doctor, not a blogger...

[MechAg94]

An entire page that said virtually nothing other than "It seems to have a function, possibly related to the immune system".  So helpful.   :rolleyes:

I guess the article did say they were starting a study, not that they had finished it.  :)

[Gewehr98]

An entire page that said virtually nothing other than "It seems to have a function, possibly related to the immune system".  So helpful.   :rolleyes:

If you can do better, by all means...

[MechAg94]

Creation science has been pointing this out for quite some time.  Why is it news now?   

Please explain. 

[Iain]

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/08/evolution_of_the_appendix.php

[Perd Hapley]

As Iain's article attests, creationists have been pointing out for some time that the appendix serves a useful function in the body (though mainly at the embryonic stage).  The idea that the appendix is merely an evolutionary left-over is another one of those discredited  evidences for evolution that is still widely believed by laymen, though science has discarded it.  From the mainstream secular magazine, New Scientist:

‘Although it used to be believed that the appendix had no function and was an evolutionary relic, this is no longer thought to be true. Its greatest importance is the immunological function it provides in the developing embryo, but it continues to function even in the adult … . The function of the appendix appears to be to expose circulating immune cells to antigens from the bacteria and other organisms living in your gut. That helps your immune system to tell friend from foe and stops it from launching damaging attacks on bacteria that happily co-exist with you.’

http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v26/i3/vestigial.asp


More anti-science from Creationist screwballs here:
http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v3/i1/appendix.asp

[Physics]

The appendix is immune tissue.  Historically it provided a source of beneficial bacteria to repopulate the digestive system.  This provided a source of the good bacteria your guts need to function, should you become sick and purging is necessary.  This function is not needed as much in today's world.

Paraphrased from my naturopath wife.  She laughed about this, saying she read a similar article in her first year of med school.  It's probably wise to keep all of your organs, they might actually do something.